right now, two major stories for news4 midday, there are reports of serious problems at the polls in some d.c. locks. the release of an american hiker imprisoned in iran is expected to be reunite wide her mother, soon. "news4 midday" i am barbara harrison. tuesday, september 14th, 2010. voters in the district are deciding if mayor fenty will serve another term. he and vincentray cast their ballots this morning. he leads in most polls.

many are worried their voices won't be heard this election day. northwest washington , reportin of polling problems. >> reporter: that is a concern for both of the candidates. basically, the kind of things we are hearing about are issues involving the electronic voting machine,nd the scanners that scan pape ballots. it is something that neither candidate wants to see. they are calling for an investigation. here at the elementary school in the southeast, voters were turned awa this man was told to leave his assigned polling place and go to another precinct. he spent two hours running back and forth between locations trying to ct a ballot. >> i don't want to say the word, but -- i will go get the car and

come back. >> reporter: very problems at the 82nd precinct in th northeast. workers for the campaigns say dozens were turned away because the electronic voting machine was not working and the questions about collecting paper ballots. >> it is a mess. who knows if the people here this morning are going to come back this afternoon or this evening. >> 75 people in line left already. i mean -- >> you are worried they are not coming back. >> yes, i don't understand. to me, this is a fiasco. >> reporter: vincent gray, and fenty are asking the board to review reported polling problems. >> every precinct so far this morning had problems. even whether i voted with a

paper ballot, the scanner wasn't working. we had to drop the ballot into a bin. >> request time the voting doesn't go smoothly, it is worrisome. we would like to do a board of elections, first. >> reporter: you can see here, live, both campaigns for the gray and fenty campaign are here outside of this polling place in georgia avenue to try to getut the vote. the polls remain open until 8:00 tonight. in terms of the problems, too early to know how wide spread the problems r speaking with vincent gray, th have heard from 15 different precincts, trying to figure out what is going on. if it was in the early hours of voting or something that is wide spread. neither candidate wants any problems with this election. whoever wins, they want it it to come off without a hitch, not

under a cloud of suspicious. barbara, back to you. >> thank u, meagan. we will check with you to see if this continues. gray is hoping to replace fenty as mayor, as u know. three are running to replace gray in the council chair. the former d.c. public school employee, dorothy douglas. and phil mindleson is trying to win a term as a councilman at lage. in if the name rngs a bell, there is a council memberame ed brown. details of the race for prince

george's county. >> they were all out thi morning, trying to get out the last minute vote. most say they have who will be the next county executive on their minds and a lmore. they have a lot to consider on this primary election day. >> challenges on the school system a development. i think that this is going to be a turning point. >> we do need to get people working, and making sure taxes don't go up without results. we need better schools. we need to get things together. >> reporter:here are five cices for county executive for the next four years. michael jackson, and bakerere making their last minu rounds today. >> to get as many citizens as we can. that one last touch before they go into the polls, say thank you

when they come out. >> i am ready for the two critical challenges, one is the educationsystem, getting that right. the other, creating jobs. we have critical issues. >> reporter: in the running, former county cocilman sam dean who said he is the front runner this race. turner is running on a platform for change. garon levee said she has a plan to move the county forward. it is a predominantly democrat party, whoever wins this will go on to be executive. >>eats in the maryland house and senate. one we are keeping an eye on, the maryland 16th district, recently vacated. 13 democrats are battling it out

for that race. three republicans are facing off. it includes chevy chase and potomac. today, governor omaily is expected to easily win today. despite the endorsement, orlick is favored to win the republican ticket today. >> barbara mccullski was elected to the senate in 1986. running for her fourth term. seven democrats are ruing against her. there are 11 republican candidates, most polls say wargo it. s is the frontrunner.

polls close at 8:00 tonight. we will monitor all the races throughout this day. log on for more information. voting day, pretty nice out there right now. tom? >> we need rain but apparently not. not mh rain all the way into next week. thursday night, there is a small chance. around the region now, a dry day. great weather for voting on this primary day. 80 in washington. fairax and montgomery county, were in the 70s to near 80 degrees. high clouds in from the north and west. out of the mountains, it is in the upper 60s and near 70, and on the eastern shore, a beautiful day around the bay. at the atlantic beaches, high clouds on an upper level flow.

20,000 feet, with us from time to time throughout the afternoon. mostly sunny. winds gusting to 20 miles an hour. high temperatures in the low 80s by mid afternoon. a look at the rest of the week, and into the tropics, active right now. we will look at the weekend as well. coming up in a couple of minutes. igor nd julia. >> y we will take a look at that. >> problems on the roads? >> we will see how we are doing along interstate 66. not too bad through fair oaks, a couple of miles down the road, near the exit for nothing street, tying up the right side of the roadway. >> chopper4, on wildale between west patrick street and key

parkway. the road is closed to traffic. bause of that, two shopping centers without water at this hour. that will be closed for some time. new today, nbc news has learned that detained higher sarah shourd has been released. she was arrested and accused of spying. shourd is reportedly in bad health and releaseod humanitarian grounds. it is unknown if bail was paid before she was released. the drivers of those buses are on strike. union members say they are striking for better job security, improved health

insurance, higher wages, and a change in disciplinary policy. they say cameras catchwhat they call minor infractions, and discipline them unfairly. the erator of the bus said the cameras help to improve safety and performance. call to see what routes are affected. a neighborhood dispute about a speed bump. stephen karp was found tied up and shot to death in his he i springfield. hisneighborhood, david patten has been arrest and charged. court records show that he was arrested for asslting carr back in june, he was upset with him to have a speed bump put in

front of his house. >> neighbors can't get along sometimes. a silly thing like a speed hump can cause a agedy like this. doesn't make sense, does it? >> david patent has been charged with murder. held without bond. >> president obama, why he was address the nation's school children for the second year in a row. >> how they plan to help the victims of the deadly fire. and hurricane igor now a major storm. stay with us, we will be right back.

check out this video, this

is another view of the natural gas explosion. they have been ecking all their lines, after an explosion destroyed 40 homes. the line was inspected twice in the last year. the utility company set aside money to help the residents recover. > president obama speech will be broadcast to schools across the country. president oba will tell students, if they focus and work hard, they can achieve their dreams. last yea he was accused of using the speech to forward his political agend a he is scheduled t leave the white house in just a few minute for the trip to philadelphia.

the president wants to extend bush era tax cuts for the middle and low income families, eliminating for the wealthst americans. he is getting resistance not only from republicans, but democrats as well. economists say a tax hike could threaten economic recovery. president obama insists they will continue to get tax breaks. >> we are taking a chance that the recovery goes back into recession. >> if you make half a million dollars a year, you get tax relief on the first half of your income. >> extending the tax cuts for everyone would cost $4 trillion in the national treasury. forecasters are keeping their eye on the atlantic as igor continues to churn it is a

category 4 storm, nasa reased this. therack shows well south of bermuda. it is too early to tell ift uld threaten land after that hurricane julia is moving west, away from the cape verde islands. sustained winds are 75 miles per hour. and tom can tell us if they will affect us any time in the future. >> it appears not. the views from space are spectacular. international space station, 135 miles over the international space station. the clouds from igor cover 1,000 miles wide of the atlantic, right no here at this hour, we have a few high clouds drifting through our y. a live view toward the south. some of the high rises on

massachusetts avenue, the palisades neighbhood, and beyond that, arlington, fairfax in the distance. 80 at national antipate, low humidity. a gust there to 20 miles an hour. elsewhere temperatures throughout most of the region, in prince george's county, upper 70s in montgomery, a fairfax. water temperatures on the bay, in the mid 70 there is. meanwhile, out of the mountains, near 70 wrnlg vginia, near 80, and over the last 12 hours, upper level winds of the atmosphere, tapping some of e clouds from the midwest. with us from time to time during the afternoon. we have two storm systems to talk about. one is powerful igor with a well-defined eye. this is hurricane jewel yampt

west, northwest, it appear that is igor's track will be taking it close to bermuda, saturday morning. hopefully, it won't hit bermuda it is a powerful hurricane. 135iles an hour. over 2000 miles away from ocean city. it does appear, close enough for heavy surf. higclouds, from a distance in the midwest. tracking upper level winds at 20,000 feet. high pressure, coming down from the great lakes, keeping things

dry into thursday afternoon. by thursday evening, this will drag through it, and trigger much-needed showers. good weather to get out and vote. the highs reach the low 80s, and a bit of a breeze a the clouds stream on through. during the day on wednesday, a beautiful day. and afternoon hihs around 80 or so. another day with a bit of sunshine. and onthursday, increasely cloudy as the low preaches. thursday night into friday morning, is when we could hve a passing shower. just a small chance. it looks like a beautiful weekend. plan accordingly. it looks like we will start off

next week dry as well. good news, the hur capes, missing the atlantiatlantic. >> check our traffic now. >> head out, take a look, see how things are progressing. along the 270, toward rockville, looking good. there is a bit of work zone taking away the left lane, traffic is light. not much of a factor right now. off the 95 fly-over ramp. left side of the roway. you have to be aware of it, pay

close attention, why filling wrinkles may not be the answer. it is almost halloween, how will it be trouble to find the perfect pumpkin this year. c doubleeat, dtoda

you know it is a fall staple and the unofficial signal of halloween, pumpkins, this year's crop will a lot smaller than in the past. too much rain, instead of helping the pumkis, it has caused them to rot and die. the moisture keeps bees from getting to the pumpkin blooms. >> how many text messages do you send a month? if you are a teen t may be closer to 3,000. teens send 2800 text messages a month. as for using cell phones as

actual phones, ladies spend 14 hours a month on the phone, three and a half hours more than men. doe that surprise you? coming up, the latest on an accident thataused problems for plane travel. >> the srch is on. what police say happened. >> what parents should be aware of

right nowon news4, sarah shourd has been released. the two other hikers remain in custody. the mayor trails gray in most polls.

vincent gray is hopingo replace him as mayor, and three are tryinto replay gray. former d.c. public school ployee, rion douglas. it will be up to the voters. voters will decide the nominee for prince george's county executive. michael jackson, and baker are the front runners in the five-way race. train traffic is moving again in maryland hours after a pedestrian was hit. the woman was struck boy a car. the impack through her on to the

train tracks, they say her injuries are serious. >> we heard that pumpkins will be skars because of the rain. we have had it so dry, it is hard to believe that is the case here. >> isolated areas, we have h a drought in virginia, panhandle. our region needs rain. doesn't appear we will get any. temperatures dry, 80 degrees, a few high clouds drifting through. west virginia, near 70. the clouds drifting in, out of the north and west. we will have those with us in the afternoon, a lot of sun, highs, low 80s, and tonight, be

down in the mid 50s, and then, ere is a chance of a passing shower thursday night into friday morning, dry off with highs near 80. saturday, a beautiful day, upper 70s, near 80 with a lot of sunshine. morning lows in the 60s. both of those days that is the way it looks. state employees in virginia may be working just four ds a week. the virginia department of planning and knowledge said it could save mlions on energy. employees woul work 10-hour days four days a week. if lawmakers adapt the recommendations, virginia would be the second state to follow

the four day work week. robberies on the trave system are becoming more common, and small electronic devices are a price target. they can be easily especially those near or close to the doors. there were more than 500 robberies on metro trains and buses. tojerry? any problems? >> good morning, the remnants of the accident, this is the one we told you about earlier. inbnd on interstate 66. everybody is consol dated, it is going tdraw some attention. lanes reopened. if you a headed stboun

some construction, bear that in mind. 395 northbound, moving along well right now. an easy lane shift to the right. a mother is speaking out exclusive to ws4, after she was arrest and jailed for kid p kidnapping her two young children. >> reporter: this was the photo released by police in april, two this happened ne, as part of an extensive several.

west could pose a thought to her children. >> i was not off of any medications. i have being treated with p it. fd as a result of being in the 9/11 attack. i have been devoted to my children there. is no way i would ever harm a hair on their head. >> west was located days later, charms with parental kidnapping. >> i realize, should not have taken off. >> reporter: she went to jail for seven months, and lost custody of bo boys. >> my attorney argued there was

no way. >> reporter: under advertently law, she could be sent back to jail on the child support maerpt. on a hearing schedule for tuesday. max, seven, and jack, two and a half. >> i haven't seen themfor a long time. i still think about them every day. they are in my heart. >> calls to david gordener's attorney were not returned. sgr south florida polce are searching for the killer of a business man of the samuel del bracko was found in his house, ten miles. pci and often travelled to florida for business. they haven't released details about his murder. pci released a statement but

refused to comment further due to the investigation. >> tom costello has more on kids finding a cheap way to get high. >> reporter: they call it robbo tripping, teenagers, how they get high on any other cough medicine with a key ingredient of dextromethorphan. it is called tripping on dex. doctors say drinking a bit too much cough syrup can cause --

>> when you use products to this volume, you are opening up yourself to risk. >> i found out about abusing dsm, i found out after my son passed away from abusing this product. >> reporter: the california nurse found her son carl dead in his bed after od g. deaths jumped 73%, to nearly 8,000 cases. at children's hospital in boston, the doctor sid half the kids for substance abuse have used dsm. >> use of dextromethorphan can precipita problems, including mood disorder anxiety or sik

psychot psychotic. >> the industry opposes that, saying these harm from abuse is rare. and started to warm about dangers to abu, using five moms to tell their story of overdose. one is misty petco. >> it is not what we are looking for. we are looking for needles, powders, the legal street drugs. >> that was tom costello reporting. parents are to asked to question it if they find used cough

medicine bottles in their children's rooms. >> adde rinkles caot just make you look older, the shape of your face can ch

it is no secret that aging causes visual changes to a person's face. what you may not know, why your

in seems to be getting looser. gravity is not your only enemy. de dermatologist explains. what is the enemy in there? >> obviously, skin that is what we see on the surface there. is five things that occur, the sketital or bony structure, the teeth, the fat, the muscle and the skin it is almost like the table cloth fits nicely when you are 20, as you get older, the table starts to shrink, the table cloth stays the same. a wrinkled line. >> the skull shrinks? >> it does. the jaw lne diminishes, if you look at the opening of the eye area, on a skeleton, it goes from round almost oval. there a a lot of struckeral

change that we see in everyon >> what do you suggest that we can do to stop the skull from shrinking. >> you can see the eye, it is more of a slanted downward projection, versus more horizontal. all of those changes, we enhance the face or improve on the cosmett cosmetic aspect. fillers, even if you go for a face lift, you need to restore the volum that is lost. >> you said you don't know --

>> that is what everyone sees, everybody even babies has smile lines. we focus on it. everything around us is falling toward our mouth. there are other changes, dropping of the cheek, sagging of the eye, that occurs with the aging ocess. that is volume, injecting to replace the volume of bone, fat. the area of the lip do you put the filler in there? >> i put minimal in there. >> where does the filler go? >> the filler goes -- i use it

all over the face. i will admi to that i have high cheek bones, and the skin was draping off the face. you can enhance this. around the temple area, women tend to be more of a heart shape. men, a rck rectangular shape. we want to restore the angles to the face to restore the beauty, if you ill. >> putting the filler in there -- >> it diminishes the smile lines and brings the mouth up a bit. >> is that is your trick, i want to do it. >> thank you. >> quickly, what about taking vitamin d, to keep from having the skull shrink? >> all the antioxidants are necessary, including vitin c,

vitamin e, all of those things to age gracefully are necessary. >> love when you come to tell us how to look better. >> my pleasure. >> retail sales postthe highest increase in five months. checking in with courtney reagan. >> reporter: good morning. the dow up 36 points, a continuation of the rally from yesterday, when the rose, the new global regulations, requiring them torotect against finance al. without a huge increase in autosales, something that has been helping. we will get to autodetails in

just a moment. best buy, earning 60 cents a share, and they went on to raise their forecast for the year. the automaker plans to launch six in total by the end of the year, 2012. there a will sell a plug-in of the prius. and used car prices are sky rocketing. this is another erveth of the recession. whicmay be surprising. some car alers stop buying at auction. more drivers are hang og to their cars. fewer late-model trade ins. >> thank you, sue see you

tomorrow. >> he is only 24, monday, he bame the the seventh man in tennis history to complete a career grand slam, winning all fourtennis tournaments in his short eight-year career. rafael nadal visited the "today" show talking about the beginning of the "nadal" era. >> it is believe for me. more than i ever expect. keep working hard to have more chances to be in the final round.

nadal won the gold medal in beijing in 2008. coming up, can what you eat trigger your seasonal allergies?

well, everyone has heard of

food allergies, peanut allergies, what about fruits and veg tables? how certain foods can cause your allergies to act up. >> a rash. break-outs. >> bananas, even tea can cause symptoms for rag weed sufferers. >> melons are huge. >> allergists y yur body can read chemicals inoods the way it reads allergenses. >> it will cause them to have itching around the mouth. they will talk about a tingling sensation. >> reporter: he said those grass

pollen sufferers may want to avoid melons and tomoes. >> it is thinking, that is a grass pollen. all it is is a melon. >> in a region where allergies are big business. >> that was scott gordon, reporting. allergists say to wch what you drink. we will look at what we will be following this afternoon. >> good morning, coming up this afternoon on ws4 at 4:00, do nela will dish the dirt on the entertainment world. and a woman reporters asked whether or not she was harassed by an nfl team in the locker

room. d karen butler having lunch with lind -- >> now, a final check of the forecast. >> a betiful day. great weather for the election underway, too. a beautiful blue sky. looking to the northwest, sugarloaf mountain, where montgomery, and fredrick county meet. right now, we are in the 70s, near 80, nationalairport, more of the same tomorrow. including includes, a small chance of showers thursday

evening. into the 80s on sunday and monday. we will see you tomorrow morning. >> thank you, tom. >> well, it isn't often that a football star scores a game-winning touchdown, and calls a fan in the stands the hero. that is what happened. >> i was sitting next to the head coach's wife. sh said, lisa, soone collapsed. >> i saw commotion down there. and being a nurse for 16 years, i said i should have see if i could help. >> he suffered a heart attack, and collapsed. thankfully, the nurse was in the crowd. he hopes to play football again next year. that is news for midday.

tune in for news at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00. until then, have a terrific say day. see you in the morning. the real housewives...

before i actually filed for divorce, i knew it would be the fight of our lives.